"Kewpie
of the Month" for July 2004Luke
Chase, Class of 1945Read
about Luke and his book, "First Verse"

Luke passed away Thursday, Jan. 1, 2009.

About Luke, from inside the cover
of "First Verse"

A Boone County Original

Luke Abbot Chase was born on Eighth Street in
Columbia, Missouri on May 3, 1927, at the home. He was the youngest
of seven children. His parents were Alma Dee and Merton Floyd Chase.

His sister Theda had the most impact on Luke in
his formative years. She was an independent thinker and a fighter
for the underdog. Luke’s sense of justice and ethics was honed by
her strong opinions.

Luke was elected student body president of David
H. Hickman High School in 1944, 13 years after Sam Walton held the same
position. He was the first in his family to graduate from college,
earning a bachelors degree in Journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

He served in the US Navy at the end of World War
II and the US Air Force during the Korean conflict. His service experience
provided visits to exotic destinations in the Pacific theater (Navy) and
almost as exotic, Billy Mitchell Field n Milwaukee (Air Force).

The ‘Bune

After some years of the West Coast, the mid 1960s
found Luke single and back in Columbia, working as an ad salesman for the
Columbia Daily Tribune. When he was promoted to manage the display
advertising department he found the love of his career. The interactions
of the bright, talented people of his team – Dan Starkey, Ron Daniel, Joe
May, Mike Brooks, Joe Tray, Dee Roberts, Bill Hanlin and others – created
a rich working atmosphere.

As the leader of this group, Luke cultivated this
atmosphere. He was witty, demanding, encourageing, funny, criticizing
and awarding. He led by example: Speed walking downtown between sales
calls, selling the maximum space per customer, creating ads that worked
and expecting the same of his staff.

This was surely a special place – not the typical
ad sales department of the typical daily newspaper. To be sure, the
ads got sold and the paper got printed every day. But there was so
much more going on. The chemistry, the intelligence, the raw wit
of the ad sales group, the love they had for each other, and for Luke,
was simply astounding.

Luke met Betty Joan Thompson while calling on
Gene Glenn’s clothing store on Broadway. Joan was Mr. Glenn’s trusted
buyer and top saleswoman. Luke and Joan fell in love like a couple
of kids.

Their careers behind them now, they find enjoyment
in volunteer activities for their church and the area Optimist Clubs.
Luke recently served as Governor of the Eastern Missouri district of Optimist
International.

These days they mainly keep close to home, buying
old collectible junk on E-bay, reading, puttering around the house, taking
Bonnie (their dog) for walks, Luke jumping up to write a poem when the
muse hits, visits with family and friends. They have a contented,
peaceful life.

Luke A. Chase, Poet

At age 76, this intelligent, witty, free thinking,
well read and well spoken man has become a published poet. The words
apparently come to him in a rush and he hurries to his computer to get
the poem down before the muse escapes. There are 77 poems here.
Some are thoughtful, some sublime. Some are just funny. Each
verse reveals a bit of the depth of the rational and emotional sides of
this remarkable man.